


One-One-Thousand

by SapphireMusings



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Hurt No Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:29:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22414018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireMusings/pseuds/SapphireMusings
Summary: A few extra seconds could make all the difference . . .
Relationships: Could be interpreted as John and Rodney friendship or McShep. Entirely up to the reader.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	One-One-Thousand

**Author's Note:**

> Well, hell. I didn’t intend one of my first forays into a published SGA fic to be a death one. This is entirely your fault, you know, Maisierita. I’m afraid both Maisie and I have been suffering for way too long from some kind of writing malaise. Neither of us could seem to find any need to write fic. So Maisie challenged me to produce 200 words of something fanficish per day. This ficlet is my initial response. It just popped out of nowhere. I had no intention of writing a whole fic. I was more inclined to try to add on to the existing SGA WIP fic. But no, apparently John had other ideas. Thank you for the quick beta, Maisierita.
> 
> WARNING: Death!fic.
> 
> Original Date of Publication: December 6, 2006.

_One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, four-one thousand._

Lying in bed, John mentally commanded the lights up. Four seconds of darkness, shared with hellish images. Why did four seconds now seem like such a long time?

* * *

_One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, four-one thousand._

John not only snagged a full cup of coffee but had poured in a sugar packet as well by the time the four seconds had passed. The sugar didn’t make life any sweeter.

* * *

_One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, four-one thousand._

John timed his counting to Elizabeth’s pen tapping on the table. Not even enough time to lose track of what Elizabeth was saying.

* * *

_One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, four-one thousand._

Draw, spin, fire. He hit the target in the heart area. God dammit! What the hell had gone wrong the other day?

* * *

****  
  


_One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, four-one thousand._

The mental counting abruptly stopped. It always stopped at four these days. Everything started stopping at four three days ago. Everything.

Approaching the edge of the balcony, John gripped the railing with both hands and stared out over the water. His eye was caught by this world’s version of a seagull and he started counting again.

_One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, four-one thousand._

At four he stopped and noted how far the bird had flown. Not all that far. On the surface it seemed that nothing much happened in four seconds.

John knew better.

He’d had three days for those four seconds to torment him and teach him that one’s whole life could be drastically shifted in a matter of seconds.

Because three days ago, John hadn’t been quick enough. Hadn’t been able to spin around, aim his gun, and drop the bastard before the other man’s weapon had found its mark.

Hadn’t been able to stop time. Not even for four seconds.

On the fifth second a dark red hole had blossomed in Rodney’s chest.

John’s world had tilted. His bullet finally found its mark—seconds too late. And then John found himself on the ground, cradling Rodney, whose life’s blood was bubbling from his lips.

_One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, four-one thousand._

It had taken a lot longer than four seconds for Rodney to die.

**SGA**

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry! :(


End file.
